Multifunction flashlight

ABSTRACT

A multifunction flashlight includes a flashlight body defining opposing front end and rear, a light source with a LED light mounted in the front end of the flashlight body, a light source switch mounted on the flashlight body near the front end, a focus adjustment device mounted on the flashlight body between the light source and the light source switch, multiple tools pivotally connected to the rear end of the flashlight body and receivable inside the flashlight body, an emergency exit hammer pivotally connected to the rear end of the flashlight body and receivable inside the flashlight body, a release switch mounted on the flashlight body near the rear end, a seat belt cutter, and a USB jack for battery charging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to lighting technology and moreparticularly, to a multifunction flashlight.

2. Description of the Related Art

Flashlight is an indispensable lighting device in daily lives,especially in the absence of light source environment, the flashlight isone of the important lighting tools. Therefore, flashlights are usuallystored in the surroundings around people or carried by people forunexpected needs. With the industry's outstanding innovation inflashlight design, different types of flashlights have been continuouslycreated to provide added functions.

Taiwan Patent TWM434157 discloses a Swiss army knife-incorporatedflashlight, which is equipped with a Swiss army knife that is receivablein the flashlight. Thus, this design of flashlight has both thefunctions of lighting and Swiss army knife without increasing thedimension.

However, an ordinary Swiss army knife has a main spearpoint blade, aswell as various tools, such as screwdrivers, a can opener, and others.Conventional Swiss knives contain only items that enhance theconvenience of everyday life. But the applicant believes that theflashlight is a popular tool, if it can add new items to increase itsadded value, its application range can be widened, enhancing theindustrial value.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances inview. It is the main object of the present invention to provide amultifunction flashlight, which provides a seat belt cutting function sothat when a traffic accident occurs and you cannot unbuckle the seatbelt lock, you can use the multifunction flashlight to cut off the seatbelt for escape.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a multifunctionflashlight, which provides a glass door/window breaking function so thatwhen people are trapped due to the window cannot be opened, you can usethe multifunction flashlight to break the window glass for escape.

To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, amultifunction flashlight comprises a flashlight body defining a frontend and an opposing rear end, a light source, a light source switch, afocus adjustment device, a tool set, an emergency exit hammer, a releaseswitch, a seat belt cutter and a USB jack. The light source is mountedin the front end of the flashlight body, comprising a LED light. Thelight source switch is mounted on the flashlight body near the front endand operable to switch on/off the LED light. The focus adjustment deviceis mounted on the flashlight body between the light source and the lightsource switch, and operable to zoom in and out the light beam emitted bythe LED light. The tool set is pivotally connected to the rear end ofthe flashlight body, comprising a small knife, a small scissors, abottle opener, a flathead screwdriver bit, a Phillips screwdriver bitand a hex wrench. Each the tool of the tool set is biasable in and outof the flashlight body and receivable inside the flashlight body. Theemergency exit hammer is pivotally connected to the rear end of theflashlight body, and receivable inside the flashlight body. Further, theemergency exit hammer has a pointed tip. The release switch is mountedon the flashlight body near the rear end, and operable to bias theemergency exit hammer for causing the emergency exit hammer to move thepointed tip out of the flashlight body. The seat belt cutter comprises aprofile slot inwardly curved from the periphery of the flashlight bodyand tilting from front to back, and a cutter blade disposed in theprofile slot and spaced below a top open side of the profile slot at apredetermined distance. The USB jack is mounted on the flashlight bodyfor battery charging.

Thus, if you find that the seat belt is wrapped around a person and youcannot unbuckle the seat belt lock, you can use the seat belt cutter tocut off the seat belt so that the trapped person can smoothlyturnaround.

Further, if people are trapped due to the window cannot be opened, youcan use the emergency exit hammer to break the window glass so that thetrapped people can successfully escape.

Other advantages and features of the present invention will be fullyunderstood by reference to the following specification in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which like reference signs denotelike components of structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a multifunction flashlight inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the multifunction flashlight in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic applied view of the present invention,illustrating focus adjustment device extended out.

FIG. 4 is another schematic applied view of the present invention,illustrating the emergency exit hammer and the multiple tools biased outof the multifunction flashlight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a multifunction flashlight 10 in accordance withthe present invention is shown. The multifunction flashlight 10 definesa front end 101 and an opposing rear end 102. Further, the multifunctionflashlight 10 comprises a light source 11, a light source switch 21, afocus adjustment device 31, a plurality of tools 41, an emergency exithammer 51, a release switch 61, a seat belt cutter 71 and a USB jack 81.

The light source 11 is mounted in the front end 101 of the multifunctionflashlight 10, comprising a LED light 13. In this embodiment, the LEDlight 13 is a variable color LED light 13. Further, the LED light 13 iscontrollable to emit white light for the purpose of illumination, or redlight for the purpose of warning. Further, when the LED light 13 iscontrolled to emit red light, the red light is emitted in a flashingmanner (not shown).

The light source switch 21 is mounted on the body of the multifunctionflashlight 10 near the front end 101, thereby allowing the user toconveniently operate when holding the multifunction flashlight 10. Thelight source switch 21 is operable to switch on/off the LED light 13.Since the LED light 13 in the present preferred embodiment, is avariable color LED light, the light source switch 21 can also switch theLED light 13 between a white light mode and a red light mode. Further,the light source switch 21 is a multi-step push button switch. However,this multi-step push button configuration is not a limitation. Otherconfiguration, such as, rotary switch can be used as a substitute.

The focus adjustment device 31 is mounted on the body of themultifunction flashlight 10 between the light source 11 and the lightsource switch 21, and operable to zoom in or out the light beam of theLED light 13. In the present preferred embodiment, when the focusadjustment device 31 is pulled backwards, the light beam of LED light 13is shifted from a concentrated mode to a scattered mode; on thecontrary, when the focus adjustment device 31 is pulled forwards, thelight beam of the LED light 13 is shifted from the scattered mode to theconcentrated mode.

The multiple tools 41 are respectively pivotally connected to the rearend 102 of the multifunction flashlight 10. The multiple tools 41include a small knife 42, a small scissors 43, a bottle opener 44, aflathead screwdriver bit 45, a Phillips screwdriver bit 46 and a hexwrench 47. Each tool 41 can be biased and received in the multifunctionflashlight 10.

The emergency exit hammer 51 has a pointed tip 53. Further, theemergency exit hammer 51 is pivotally connected to the rear end 102 ofthe multifunction flashlight 10, and can be biased and received insidethe multifunction flashlight 10. In the present preferred embodiment,the tools 41 and the emergency exit hammer 51 are arranged back to back.

The release switch 61 is mounted on the body of the multifunctionflashlight 10 near the rear end 102, thereby allowing the user toconveniently operate when holding the multifunction flashlight 10.Triggering the release switch 61 can bias the emergency exit hammer 51to move the pointed tip 53 out of the multifunction flashlight 10. Inthe present preferred embodiment, the release switch 61 is of a pushbutton design, however, this push button design is not a limitation.Other design, such as DIP switch design can be used as a substitute.

The seat belt cutter 71 comprises a profile slot 73 and a cutter blade75. The profile slot 73 curves inward from the surface of the body ofthe multifunction flashlight 10 and tilts from front to back. The cutterblade 75 is mounted in the profile slot 73. Further, the cutter blade 75is spaced below the top open side of the profile slot 73 at apredetermined distance. In the present preferred embodiment, the seatbelt cutter 71 is disposed near the rear end 102 of the multifunctionflashlight 10.

The USB jack 81 is mounted on the body of the multifunction flashlight10. Further, in the present preferred embodiment, the USB jack 81 is apower jack for battery charging (since the battery in the presentpreferred embodiment is a rechargeable power storage device of thecommon technology, it is not shown in the drawings). Thus, themultifunction flashlight 10 can be charged with an external powersource.

The multifunction flashlight 10 further comprises a protective shell 91attached to the front end 101 of the multifunction flashlight 10. Theprotective shell 91 has a plurality of protruding portions 93equiangularly spaced around a top edge thereof. The protective shell 91is adapted for protecting the light source 11 against the impact of anexternal glass or other hard objects. The protruding portions 93 can beused as foot members of the protective shell 91 to support themultifunction flashlight 10 on a planar surface (flooring surface ortabletop) in an erect position. In addition to the advantage of beingeasy to take, the multifunction flashlight 10 in the erect position isless susceptible to displacement upon a slight vibration, avoidingresulting in loss or damage.

However, if the light source 11 will not be impacted when you use themultifunction flashlight 10, the protective shell 91 can be eliminated.Therefore, the protective shell 91 is not a requisite component.However, without mounting the protective shell 91 at the front end 101of the multifunction flashlight 10, you cannot use the protective shell91 as a seat for the multifunction flashlight 10.

The multifunction flashlight 10 further comprises a light transmissivering 95. The light transmissive ring 95 is mounted on the body of themultifunction flashlight 10 in the front end 101. If the multifunctionflashlight 10 is equipped with the protective shell 91 and the LED light13 is controlled to emit red warning light, the user can use theprotruding portions 93 of the protective shell 91 as seat means tosupport the multifunction flashlight 10 on the floor in an erectposition, enabling the emitted red warning light to go through the lighttransmissive ring 95 toward the outside, avoiding significant reductionof the red light transmittance due to the downward facing position ofthe LED light 13. Therefore, the arrangement of the light transmissivering 95 greatly increase the overall light transmission area of themultifunction flashlight 10. If it is not necessary to increase thelight transmission area, the light transmissive ring 95 can beeliminated. Therefore, the light transmissive ring 95 is not a requisitecomponent.

After understood the structural details of the present invention, theapplication of the multifunction flashlight 10 is explained hereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, when using the multifunction flashlight 10 forillumination, hold the body of the multifunction flashlight 10 with onehand and press the light source switch 21 to switch on the LED light 13,driving the LED light 13 to emit white light for illumination. At thistime, you can pull the focus adjustment device 31 forward or backward tozoom in or out, adjusting the lighting range. Thereafter, you can pressthe light source switch 21 to shift the LED light 13 from the whitelight mode to the red light mode for warning if desired. When you pressthe light source switch 21 again, the LED light 13 will be shifted fromthe red light mode back to the white light mode. If you press the lightsource switch 21 again, the LED light 13 is immediately returned to OFFstate.

When using the multifunction flashlight 10 for cutting off a seat belt,insert the seat belt into the profile slot 73, and then pull the seatbelt against the cutter blade 75 in direction away from the profile slot73. At this time, the cut part of the seat belt will be moved out of theprofile slot 73. This procedure is repeated again and again till thatthe seat belt is completely cut off, thereby avoiding the situation inwhich the person is trapped by the seat belt and cannot smoothlyturnaround.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, when using the multifunction flashlight10 for breaking a glass, press the release switch 61 to release theemergency exit hammer 51, enabling the emergency exit hammer 51 to biaspointed tip 53 toward the outside of the multifunction flashlight 10,and then apply a pressure to the emergency exit hammer 51 to strike thepointed tip 53 of the emergency exit hammer 51 against the glass,thereby breaking the glass. After the usage, push the emergency exithammer 51 back inside the inside of the multifunction flashlight 10 byhand.

When using the multiple tools 41, you can turn the selected tool 41toward the outside of the multifunction flashlight 10. After the usage,you can turn back the selected tool 41 and receive it in themultifunction flashlight 10.

Thus, if you find that the seat belt is wrapped around a person and youcannot unbuckle the seat belt lock, you can use the seat belt cutter 71to cut off the seat belt so that the trapped person can smoothlyturnaround.

Further, if people are trapped due to the window cannot be opened, youcan use the emergency exit hammer 51 to break the window glass so thatthe trapped people can successfully escape.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multifunction flashlight, comprising; aflashlight body defining a front end and an opposing rear end: a lightsource mounted in said front end of said flashlight body, said lightsource comprising a LED light; a light source switch mounted on saidflashlight body near said front end and operable to switch on/off saidLED light; a focus adjustment device mounted on said flashlight bodybetween said light source and said light source switch and operable tozoom in and out the light beam emitted by said LED light; a tool setpivotally connected to said rear end of said flashlight body, said toolset comprising a small knife, a small scissors, a bottle opener, aflathead screwdriver bit, a Phillips screwdriver bit and a hex wrench,each said tool of said tool set being biasable in and out of saidflashlight body and receivable inside said flashlight body; an emergencyexit hammer pivotally connected to said rear end of said flashlight bodyand receivable inside said flashlight body, said emergency exit hammerhaving a pointed tip; a release switch mounted on said flashlight bodynear said rear end and operable to bias said emergency exit hammer forcausing said emergency exit hammer to move said pointed tip out of saidflashlight body; a seat belt cutter comprising a profile slot inwardlycurved from the periphery of said flashlight body and tilting from frontto back, and a cutter blade disposed in said profile slot and spacedbelow a top open side of said profile slot at a predetermined distance;and a USB jack mounted on said flashlight body for battery charging. 2.The multifunction flashlight as claimed in claim 1, wherein said toolset and said emergency exit hammer are arranged back to back.
 3. Themultifunction flashlight as claimed in claim 1, wherein said seat beltcutter is disposed near said rear end of said flashlight body.
 4. Themultifunction flashlight as claimed in claim 1, further comprising aprotective shell mounted on said front end of said flashlight, saidprotective shell comprising a plurality of protruding portionsequiangularly spaced around a top edge thereof.
 5. The multifunctionflashlight as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a lighttransmissive ring mounted on said flashlight body at said front end. 6.The multifunction flashlight as claimed in claim 1, wherein said LEDlight is a variable color LED light.
 7. The multifunction flashlight asclaimed in claim 6, wherein said LED light is selectively controllableto emit white light or red light.
 8. The multifunction flashlight asclaimed in claim 7, wherein said LED light is controlled to emit saidred light in a flashing mode.